A friend and I wanted to go on a cycling trip and were thinking about Morocco. We went to Great Canadian Travel and they helped us select and book a suitable cycling trip with Exodus Travel. We joined a dozen others, mainly English and a couple of New Zealanders. We had both English and Moroccan cycling guides, along with a support van and a four-wheel drive jeep to support us on tough terrain and change flats or perform bike repairs on the spot.

One fine morning in October 2016, somewhere in the world, a person wakes up with the conviction that she will see polar bears evolving in their natural habitat before celebrating her 75th birthday, the next month, in November.

Premonition? Madness? Caprice? Awareness of the ecological threat? Anyway, she calls me … This person is my mother and anyone who knows her as well as I, knows that when she has decided on something, it is difficult to make her change her mind. (more…)

Name

Kaitlyn Lischynski and Stacie Allard

Hometown

Winnipeg, MB

Trip

Hightlights of Morocco

In December, Martha helped us book our adventure to Morocco and Spain for the months of February-March.

We did a 15-day G Adventures tour to Morocco called Highlights of Morocco. True to its name, we had the opportunity to see the exciting highlights of what the country has to offer. (more…)

Name

Murray & Lynn Riddell

Hometown

Winnipeg, Canada

Trip

Cambodia and Vietnam

On March 7th, 2017 my husband and I departed for a 3 week adventure tour to Cambodia and Vietnam. Once again Martha from Great Canadian Travel did an amazing job of providing us with advice, ideas and reputable small group tour companies to consider. She provided support on the flights we choose, visas and answered a whole host of other questions we had.

My partner and I travelled to Africa for 6 weeks with the help of Great Canadian Travel and particularly Arne Hydamaka. This man customized a tour for us that was beyond our wildest African dreams!

We gave Arnie a list of places and dreams that we had, and he proceeded with the arrangements to make them come true. Easily and effortlessly we travelled through Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and the southern portion of South Africa.

Irish food always raises visions of Irish stew with lamb, beef and Guinness stew, corned beef and cabbage, blood pudding, breakfast sausages, and, of course, potatoes. As a vegetarian, what would I eat other than potatoes and soggy vegetables? As a precaution, I packed a bag of energy and protein bars. I returned with it unopened.

I love Inukshuks, but I don’t know why. I just love them! So when I got to Churchill and the city map indicated two Inukshuks, I had to see them. Giant Inukshuks!!! I was delighted!.(more…)

Name

Kathy K.

Hometown

Winnipeg, MB

Trip

Cycling in Albania

Where in the World is Albania? Cycling in a Little Known Country of Mystery –

When informed that I was going cycling in Albania, most asked where, or even what, Albania was. It’s a small nation with a complex, diverse, and difficult history, Albania is north of Greece and south of Croatia/Montenegro on the Adriatic coast. The Great Canadian Travel Group helped book our trip to this fascinating, rarely seen country.

We had the BEST time. I would have to say that out of all the countries I’ve travelled to, Iceland by far has my favourite scenery. There is amazing scenery everywhere of course, but Iceland’s unique, diverse, ever changing beauty is the top of my list!

I had an amazing time in both Churchill and Yellowknife, and was extremely fortunate to have been able to view everything that I was hoping for. In Churchill, kayaking with the Beluga whales is such an incredible experience – to have dozens of them literally within arms length is so exhilarating.

It is ironic that I spend most of my life in Manitoba but I have to move away to California to realize that I really needed to see and experience a Polar Bear adventure back in Churchill, Manitoba. And what an experience it was! These giant bears are among earth’s mysterious and fascinating animals and seeing them is akin to my trips to see lions, tigers and elephants. And with climate change happening I was even more compelled to arrange a trip to visit them. (more…)

Name

Meredith Faires

Hometown

Regina, Saskatchewan

Trip

Fins and Fiddles

The combination of caring, knowledgeable, and experienced staff, visiting extraordinary sites, and having the opportunity to participate in various activities (hiking, kayaking, SUP, biking) provided a foundation for a spectacular trip.

Some of my most unforgettable moments were the wildlife encounters – the wild horses on Sable Island, the grey seals curiously popping up by our zodiacs and kayak, and whales diving and feeding. In addition, the Fins and Fiddles trip provided a once-and-a-lifetime opportunity to visit Sable Island – an awesome adventure that very few individuals are fortunate to experience.

Name

Jack and Suzanne Hill

Hometown

Rothesay, NB

Trip

Georgia Food, Wine & Culture

“Are you crazy?” “You may never get home again.” “You could be kidnapped.” These were the kind of reactions we got when we announced that we were planning to go to Georgia and the Caucasus. After a phone call from Max Johnson one afternoon, telling us how much we would enjoy the adventure, we were convinced by his enthusiasm that we should go. That, as well as encouragement from Lois, our travel advisor at The Great Canadian Travel Company, was the catalyst for our plan. (more…)

Name

Kathy K.

Hometown

Winnipeg, MB, Canada

Trip

Cycling The Drakensberg and Kruger

I went cycling in South Africa with two friends for two weeks. We joined an Exodus cycling tour of 14, mainly English with a couple of Australians. http://www.exodustravels.com/ca/south-africa-holidays/cycling/cycling-drakensberg-kruger/mzd-85656?setcountry=CA We had a support van with a driver and a guide who also prepared most of our food. We cycled in the North East corner of South Africa, near the border of Mozambique and Swaziland. The cycling was in rural areas, and initially at an altitude of 2000 metres, which kept us cool, though winded from our lack of altitude training (or maybe, just lack of sufficient training, altitude or not, ok.). What I was not expecting were the long climbs of 5, 6, 7 kilometres, though I certainly welcomed the descents thereafter! (more…)

Name

Andrew and Dawn Darke

Hometown

Newmarket, ON

Trip

Essential Iceland

Intending to use the Icelandair stopover program en-route to a visit to England, we were fortunate to find Great Canadian Travel Company in Winnipeg through a Google search, and enlisted Iceland Specialist Shauna Cook to advise and plan our tour.

It had always been a dream to see the migration and some of the African National Parks. Our dream came true when we booked a “Chance to See the Migration” tour with GCTC and their new partner Asilia. Apart from the lure of the migration, the chance to sleep under tents and also in a moveable camp was a determinant in choosing this tour for travel in May 2016.

The first day at Blachford it was very overcast and nobody had high hopes of seeing the lights. But, sure enough, later that night they came out and danced around the sky. I was able to watch them from my bed in the lodge which was nice as they were super epic and a step up from the ones earlier in the night. Yellowknife and Blachford were incredible and I had an amazing time!

Name

Jennifer Shead

Hometown

Winnipeg, MB

Trip

Enchanting Islands

My escorted tour to the Canadian Maritimes (Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island) was one of the most fun and relaxing trips I have ever taken. I visited so many beautiful places, and many of them were places that I would not have thought to visit had it not been for the local expert leading the tour. Highlights of the trip included having breakfast in Peggy’s Cove, watching the Anne of Green Gables musical in Charlottetown, authentic lobster supper in Cavendish, and driving the picturesque Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island. My favourite part of the trip was the time we spent on Prince Edward Island. It was amazing to see the red cliffs in person!

Name

Johanna Hickey

Hometown

Vancouver, British Columbia

Trip

The Mighty St. Lawrence

From New France to France down the Mighty St. Lawrence with Adventure Canada. Does it get any better? We left Quebec City on a beautiful sunset evening and arrived in the early morning mist at the French Islands of St Pierre and Miquelon a week later on board the wonderful expedition ship, The Ocean Endeavour, the newest and most up-to-date ship operated by Adventure Canada.

We are now back home after a great trip. The arrangements you made for us went off like clock work without a glitch. We really enjoyed seeing both Iceland and Greenland and I especially enjoyed the Inuit villages in Greenland. The weather in both countries was warmer than I had anticipated but we were told that it was unseasonably warm and we only had two short periods of light drizzle during our entire trip, so we lucked in. Also, there was very little wind in Iceland which I understand is unusual.

Thanks, Allison, for doing such a great job.

Name

Andrea Gillette

Hometown

Chilliwack, BC

Trip

The Three Lands Epic Tour

The Three Lands Epic Tour began with a desire to see Ireland. I was going to rent a car and see a few things over a week… on the cheap. I then invited my Mom to see the places her Grandmother (my Great-Grandmother) came from and the trip grew from there. It bloomed into a multiple country odyssey that began in Vancouver and went to Ireland, Scotland and Iceland.

Our first adventure travel to Argentina and Chile was an amazing experience! A huge thanks goes to Great Canadian Travel who talked to us about what we were looking for and recommended our tour. We booked the small group 14 day tour through Great Canadian Travel who ensured everything was completely trouble free. (more…)

Name

Bryan Hayward

Hometown

Virden, Manitoba

Trip

Panama Canal

Cruising the Panama Canal had always been on my bucket list and finally I was able to check it off my list and take along my son and daughter for the ride. Great Canadian Travel was great, they helped me figure out which cruise line to book with based on what we wanted to see and do.

We boarded the cruise in Fort Lauderdale where a host from Princess Cruises welcomed us on the cruise ship. The ship is very attractive, entertainment on board is very professionally done, the food was very delicious and plentiful at all times. (more…)

Name

Tina Leblanc & Justin Lewis

Hometown

Saint-Antoine, New Brunswick

Trip

New Year's Festival

On our recent New Years Eve trip to Iceland, we stayed at the Fosshotel Baron. The service there was excellent, their “continental breakfast” was amazing, the shower was small but did the job. The room isn’t fancy like at the Hilton, but it was good for the amount of time we spent in the room. I have to say, their breakfast was beyond what I would consider continental. They had, boiled eggs, fish, tuna salad, all kind of breads, brie cheese, swiss cheese, yummy spreadable cheese, skyr, omelettes, sausages, sandwich meats, veggies and fruits, a waffle maker…. so we never went hungry. (more…)

Name

Kay & Gord Shawcross

Hometown

Manitoba, Canada

Trip

Tanzania Safari

” On arrival at Mount Kilimanjaro International Airport ”

May 2015 Great Canadian Travel : Safari in Tanzania

Who would not want to start a story off with a title like that?

We arranged the clothing, the cameras, the visas, the travel books, and received the tour package from Great Canadian. (more…)

Name

Beverly Coulter & Mitchell Greig

Hometown

Ontario, Canada

We had an awesome time and loved it all!! The scenery is amazing and so diverse. Our guide was excellent, friendly, informative, knowledgeable and all went very well. We would definitely recommend this tour to anyone – it is active with short hikes on trails and up craters, to waterfalls, etc. so not boring but not for the frail.

Name

Lisa, Travel Agent

Hometown

Florida, USA

[Our clients] had the most amazing time. They had lots of activity right at the Polar Lodge, saw the Northern Lights two times and could not say more about the trip other than it was AMAZING!! Good job!!

Name

Barry Nelson

You may not be surprised to hear we enjoyed a great trip that far exceeded our high expectations… Winnipeg was a good stop over with Churchill. Again the trip to Churchill was truly exceptional for it was very well organized; everyone (including the Polar Bears!) very accommodating and over our two full days on the Tundra we encountered at least 60 Bears – some with cubs, others sparring but most just lounging around waiting for the ice to form! We came home with some great pictures and great memories.

Name

Joshua Bleijenberg

Hometown

California, USA

We had a wonderful time. Lots of great pics and plenty of stories.
Truly a once in a lifetime experience.

Name

John Deacon, Traveler's Century Club

Hometown

Manitoba, Canada

Only 25 countries left to visit. Thanks to The Great Canadian Travel Company I have been able to visit 171 countries and 46 dependencies such as Greenland, Gibraltar, etc. Travel arrangements have been perfect as I sometimes travel from country to country including a recent short stay in Afghanistan.

Name

Maija Lutz

Hometown

Rhode Island, USA

Our Best of the Arctic trip was fantastic! The day we arrived it was very windy and people doubted if we could go on the water the next day. But by the next morning it was just fine and off we went, getting back seven hours later. We had lunch on one of the little islands and stopped off a few other times. We saw narwhals, but couldn’t get close enough to them for good photos, because people from some other community were hunting there. Repulse Bay had already reached its quota of 72. But the several polar bears we saw more than made up for that, including the mom and her cubs swimming near our boat. Seeing those bears in their natural environment was just something really special and magical and hard to put into words. So, do you think we had a fantastic trip? You bet we did. Did we have any downsides? Things like two two-hour delays on Calm Air and a few bites from some mega-insects are small potatoes compared to what we gained from this trip. Thank you for arranging such a wonderful adventure for us!

Name

Wyn and Gil B

Hometown

New Zealand

We are now safely back in New Zealand after an amazing adventure. We would like to thank you most heartily for all the arrangements you made for us. The careful planning and advice certainly paid off.

The national museum in Nuuk is well worth seeing and gave a good background to Greenland. The Sarfaq Ituuk (ferry) was a good experience, the staff friendly and helpful. The cabin spotless and the food totally adequate… We had calm seas all the way and were really excited to wake up on the last morning to be among icebergs and saw some whales spouting. Ilulissat was magic. Thank you for suggesting pre-booking the midnight sun cruise. What a wonderful experience that was. The Hotel Icefiord was very good. A room overlooking the bay, good food and a reasonable walk to town. We did a lot of walking and exploring. Again the museum there was interesting and well set out. We wondered about the value of spending twelve hours on a boat to go to the Eqi Glacier, but we are so pleased we did; it certainly was worth every minute. Seeing such a huge glacier calving is something we will remember.

There is nothing we would have changed, except perhaps for extending our time in Ilulissat…initially we thought that four nights there might be a bit long, but…an extra day there would have been welcome.

Name

Allison Mooney

Hometown

New Jersey, USA

Had a wonderful time! Was a little too cloudy to see the lights, but honestly, I saw so many beautiful things (icebergs and glaciers and volcanoes oh my!), it really didn’t phase me at all. The guide Snorri was very warm and friendly – because the group was so small, he took us on several detours which made the trip even more special. Had a hot dog at that red/white stand – delicious!!

Overall I was so pleased with the trip – would like to go again in the summer eventually. I want to thank GCTC for all of your help in booking everything and answering all my questions. It was a life long dream to go and I’m so glad I did – if anything, it made me anxious to plan my next international trip!

Name

Diana Stewart

Hometown

Prince Edward Island, Canada

This polar bear tour has been on my bucket list for several years, and it was absolutely wonderful – everything I had hoped it would be!

Name

Joyce McKeever

Hometown

Virginia, USA

Thank you so much for the fantastic trip you planned for my grandson and myself. Everything completely clicked and were the perfect tours to keep both my grandson and me entertained. I travel quite a lot and this was the best planned trip yet.

Name

Ian & Rhona Burgess

I am just writing to say what a fantastic holiday we had on the Polar Bear Adventure Tour in November 2010. From booking to returning, everything was superbly well organized and ran without any hitches. The Tour guides were excellent, and we saw lots of Polar Bears in their natural surroundings. We shall certainly be using your services again.

Name

Jared Mitchell & John Rudell

Lois, a quick note to thank you for all your hard work on arranging our tour of Iceland. It went off flawlessly and we were delighted with our experiences there. We’ll gladly recommend Great Canadian Travel to friends.

Name

David Rosair

My wife and I recently went with Great Canadian Travel on a 7-night Tour to Baffin Island, primarily to seek out some of the wildlife combined with scenery and local culture – we were not disappointed!

Polar Bear, Beluga Whale & Snowy Owl, fabulous Arctic Poppies and scenery par excellence with snow-capped mountains, glaciers, flow ice for miles & flower-covered tundra. Talking to the local Inuits and understanding their history and culture was a real insight. If you enjoy wild places, then Baffin Island is is for you!

Name

Ronald Wager

Hometown

New York, USA

Had a great time. Friends can’t believe how close we were to the bears. The dog sledding was unbelievable.

Name

Kristi and David

Hometown

Texas, USA

We had an outstanding time in South Greenland. You did a fantastic job of getting an itinerary together that let us do the most in a limited amount of time. Everything went off without a hitch and it was, if anything, better than we expected. We thank you for your great communication in setting up all the details prior to our departure and then checking up after the trip. I would definitely recommend your company for other travel needs.

Name

Kathy K.

Hometown

Winnipeg, MB

Trip

Cycling in Albania

Cycling Morocco A friend and I wanted to go on a cycling trip and were thinking about Morocco. We went to Great Canadian Travel and they helped us select and book a suitable cycling trip with Exodus Travel. We joined a dozen others, mainly English and a couple of New...

What’s New

Scotland Slowly by Sea - travel solo and pay no single supplement! More single cabins have been made available on this expedition cruise in Categories 3 to 7. Explore the coastline and hidden gems of Scotland on this small-ship adventure June 11-21, 2018. Subject to availability, so call now for…

We don't travel to mundane, boring, or average destinations, and don't think you should have to either. We believe the rest of the world deserves to be explored and our specialty is finding exclusive locations and activities to excite the most world weary traveller.For over thirty years we have worked with clients' itineraries to virtually every corner of the world, and between us have visited over 150 countries.

Beyond Amsterdam – to Arnhem

Travel to The Netherlands is always a treat for me, combining the fun of exploring more new places with an opportunity to visit friends in the northeast province of Drenthe. My recent visit was no exception; this time we spent a day exploring the Open-Air Museum in Arnhem. World War…

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